Homeowners are staggered to find a massive hive weighing 100kg and packed with more than 60,000 BEES in the roof of their house
- A beekeeper has shared footage of a huge hive he found in a Brisbane home
- Incredibly Paul Wood has seen hives far bigger with one weighing up to 100kgs
- He shared some tips on how to spot bees in your home and how to keep them out
Shocked homeowners have discovered more than 60,000 bees inside a huge hive in the roof of their home.
Laurel Lupschen called Paul Wood from Brisbane Backyard Bees to remove the sizeable hive in Bracken Ridge, north of Brisbane, last Saturday after it was discovered.
‘I think she was quite shocked, everyone is shocked when you take (the ceiling) off and there enormous thing – it is spectacular to look at,’ Mr Wood said.
‘It’s a disappointing to pulling apart such a beautiful hive but it had to be done.’
Amazingly Mr Wood says the hive was not even the largest he had seen – and takes colonies of this size out of homes almost weekly.
‘I did a hive a while ago that was around 100 kilos, I was on my knees for five hours vacuuming it up,’ he said.
‘This one was still quite a large one though.’
Mr Wood said the process to remove the bees is done very carefully and specifically as to not hurt them.
‘I use a thermal camera to locate the hive and the hot part of the hive, the hot part of the hives is where the queen lives,’ he said.
Amazingly Paul Wood says the hive of 60,000 bees was not even the largest he had seen – and takes colonies of this size out of homes almost weekly
Mr Wood said his first priority is to make sure the queen bee is safe and secured.
‘I then cut the ceiling to expose the hive and vacuum the bees out,’ he said.
‘Every hive has a personality, I like to work nice and slowly, slow is best I try not to use smoke, I usually do get a sting or two but you just play the game.’
He said there is a long waiting list of bee-lovers that he transports the bees to after they have settled down in a hive built for them at his home.
Mr Wood said the process to remove the bees is done very carefully and specifically as to not hurt them
The veteran bee keeper said people often do not mind bees in their house and go years without having a problem but there are some ways to make sure you don’t end up with a massive hive.
‘Bees regularly flying in and out of your home that can be a big sign,’ Mr Wood said.
‘You can basically make sure that there are no outside holes in your home, when bees are swarming during reproduction they scout these holes and they go inside and measure the cavity.
‘These holes are often found under window seals and brick holes are a favourite – you can get little clips from Bunnings to push into them.’
Mr Wood said there is a long waiting list of beekeepers that he transports the bees to after they have settled down in a hive built for them at his home